Page 111 of A World Apart
“Y’know, that weird feeling when your whole body shivers for no reason?” I prompted.
“Is someone walking over your grave?” he said, doubtfully. “Is this an English thing?”
“I-I don’t think so, but maybe?”
“Yeah, okay, whatever.” He ran a hand over his face. “Listen, we got that band coming in tomorrow, and I already know they’re gonna be a pain in the ass. Whatever you got pencilled in, cancel it.”
“The Smoking Guns? Yeah, sure,” I agreed easily, only planning on shadowing the tech team all day anyway. “What do you think you’ll need me to do?”
He sighed, a long-suffering sigh that echoed of early retirement and neat whiskey. “If the last time is any indication, holding sick bags and reminding them this is a no-smoking building.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding.”
“The fuck I am,” he grumbled, and turned to continue his journey down the corridor, before spinning around, pointing his finger at me and saying, “and for the love of god, do not let them near the fucking proc deck!”
“So, babysitter, then?” I called after him.
“You got it, kid!” He waved a hand over his shoulder, not turning back around.
“Just another day in LA.” I muttered to myself.
Chapter 33
On Thursday, I woke up to a text from Jihoon, the time on it was stamped 2:00am, which − I did the maths in my head – 10:00am, London time.
Joon
Good morning beautiful. I love London, we have a few free hours today to sight see. Seokmin is making us go to the Wax museum lol. Later we’re filming the One Show and then having dinner at the Shard, have you ever been?
[sent 02:14]
The Hyde Park festival wasn’t until tomorrow, so I guess today they were piling as much in as much fun as possible. That last bit made me laugh a bit though. The Shard is a massive, pointy skyscraper in central London, kind of like the Empire State building in New York, where you can pay to go all the way to the top and look out over London and yes, there were restaurants in the Shard, but they were way out of the price range of a humble student − now intern.
Me
Hey you! Now you’re on my turf! I can’t wait to see the pictures you take at Madame Tussauds − bring me a wax model as a souvenir! I’m definitely going to watch the One Show − I can watch it live at work! And no, I’ve never eaten at the Shard, but I bought a coffee from a street vendor outside it once, that counts! XD Have an amazing day! X
Jihoon’s morning message put me in such a good mood, that later on at work, I didn’t even mind when Donna at the front desk told me my shirt was inside out, which was actually really nice of her to let me know. Or when I stubbed my toe on a box of coffee pods, which I know I put away the day before.
The Smoking Guns weren’t due in until after lunch, so when 10:50am rolled around, I took my happy butt down to the storage cave on the ground floor, which had become my unofficial hang out, and spooled up my VPN so I could watch the One Show on BBC iPlayer.
I was sat there, eating my sandwich, when the show started. I had to watch through the first half in nervous anticipation of being caught, because while I did get a lunch break, it was normally at noon, so there was every possibility someone would come looking for me. But luckily, I didn’t seem to be on the top of anyone’s priority, as I was left in peace. It wasn’t until the final half of the show when they finally brought on GVibes.
As the group’s leader, Minjae led them onto the stage, where they bowed before sitting on the sofa and the taller chairs behind.
“Welcome, welcome, give a big round of applause, all the way from Seoul, Korea, one of the hottest bands in the world right now, GVibes!” The presenter led the audience in a round of applause and cheers that went on for so long, the two presenters had to eventually call for order. Clearly some lucky Vibers were in the crowd today.
“Now, gentleman, would you care to introduce yourselves?”
This was a well-practiced routine that the group must have done thousands of times.
Minjae, as the leader, started by saying, “Hi, I’m Jae, nice to meet you.”
Then Woojin, the main rapper of the group, “Hello, I’m Woojin, you can call me Jin.”
Sungmin, second rapper and the group’s best dancer got up, moonwalked across the stage, which made the audience scream and the group laugh, or put their faces in their hands. He sat back down, took the mic and said, “What’s up London, you know I’m Lee, who are you?” I laughed − he was such a clown. Next up was Jihoon, who took the mic, looked right into the camera and said, “Hello, you. My name’s Joon, good to see you.” I fluttered my face with my hand, inexplicably feeling flushed from all of that stage presence turned on.
Lastly was Seokmin, the youngest member of the group − the ‘maknae.’ He took the mic and said to the audience, not the camera, “Hi everyone, I’m Ace, but you know that already.” The cheeky maknae winked, which just about sent the crowd into apoplectic fits, by the sounds of it. They were screaming, and he just grinned. I shook my head. He knew exactly what he was doing, they all did. They were so good at this.
